14 CFR 250.3 - Boarding priority rules.

(a) Every carrier shall establish priority rules and criteria for determining which passengers holding confirmed reserved space shall be denied boarding on an oversold flight in the event that an insufficient number of volunteers come forward. Such rules and criteria shall reflect the obligations of the carrier set forth in §§ 250.2a and 250.2b to minimize involuntary denied boarding and to request volunteers, and shall be written in such manner as to be understandable and meaningful to the average passenger. Such rules and criteria shall not make, give, or cause any undue or unreasonable preference or advantage to any particular person or subject any particular person to any unjust or unreasonable prejudice or disadvantage in any respect whatsoever.

(b) Boarding priority factors may include, but are not limited to, the following:

(1) A passenger's time of check-in;

(2) Whether a passenger has a seat assignment before reaching the departure gate for carriers that assign seats;

The comment period for the proposed rule published on May 23, 2014 (79 FR 29970), is reopened. Comments must be received by September 29, 2014. Comments received after this date will be considered to the extent practicable.

14 CFR Parts 234, 244, 250, 255, 256, 257, 259, and 399

Summary

This action reopens the comment period for a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on transparency of airline ancillary fees and other consumer protection issues that was published in the Federal Register on May 23, 2014. We are extending the end of the comment period from September 22, 2014, to September 29, 2014. Open Allies for Airfare Transparency and the Travel Technology Association (Travel Tech) have noted the delay in posting the summary of a meeting attended by DOT staff with representatives of Airlines for America (A4A), the Regional Airline Association (RAA), and several of their member airlines on August 7, 2014. The reopening of the comment period is intended to provide all interested parties sufficient time prior to the close of the comment period for this rulemaking to review the summary of the August 7 meeting that DOT posted in the rulemaking docket.

Comments must be received by September 22, 2014. Comments received after this date will be considered to the extent practicable.

14 CFR Parts 234, 244, 250, 255, 256, 257, 259, and 399

Summary

This action extends the comment period for an NPRM on transparency of airline ancillary fees and other consumer protection issues that was published in the Federal Register on May 23, 2014. The Department of Transportation is extending the period for interested persons to submit comments on this rulemaking from August 21, 2014, to September 22, 2014. This extension is a result of a joint petition filed by a number of airline associations to extend the comment period for the proposal.

Comments must be received by August 21, 2014. Comments received after this date will be considered to the extent practicable.

14 CFR Parts 234, 244, 250, 255, 256, 257, 259, and 399

Summary

The Department is seeking comment on a number of proposals to enhance protections for air travelers and to improve the air travel environment, including a proposal to clarify and codify the Department's interpretation of the statutory definition of “ticket agent.” By codifying the Department's interpretation, the Department intends to ensure that all entities that manipulate fare, schedule, and availability information in response to consumer inquiries and receive a form of compensation are adhering to all of the Department's consumer protection requirements that are applicable to ticket agents such as the full-fare advertising rule and the code-share disclosure rule. This NPRM also proposes to require airlines and ticket agents to disclose at all points of sale the fees for certain basic ancillary services associated with the air transportation consumers are buying or considering buying. Currently, some consumers may be unable to understand the true cost of travel while searching for airfares, due to insufficient information concerning fees for ancillary services. The Department is addressing this problem by proposing that carriers share real-time, accurate fee information for certain optional services with ticket agents. Other proposals in this NPRM to enhance airline passenger protections include: Expanding the pool of “reporting” carriers; requiring enhanced reporting by mainline carriers for their domestic code-share partner operations; requiring large travel agents to adopt minimum customer service standards; codifying the statutory requirement that carriers and ticket agents disclose any airline code-share arrangements on their Web sites; and prohibiting unfair and deceptive practices such as undisclosed biasing in schedule and fare displays and post-purchase price increases. The Department is also considering whether to require ticket agents to disclose the carriers whose tickets they sell in order to avoid having consumers mistakenly believe they are searching all possible flight options for a particular city-pair market when in fact there may be other options available. Additionally, this NPRM would correct drafting errors and make minor changes to the Department's second Enhancing Airline Passenger Protections rule to conform to guidance issued by the Department's Office of Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings (Enforcement Office) regarding its interpretation of the rule.